


Fast Pace

by hoshluvr



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, and rating change for vague desc of smth and cursing, bad desc but i think you get the gist, meanie now, sprinkles of jeongcheol, the rating may change but i don't really know i'm writing as i go, this started off as cheap diner fluff idk what happened..
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-01 08:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18796903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoshluvr/pseuds/hoshluvr
Summary: A scarily mysterious short man is pining after our poor, sweet diner waiter, Kwon Soonyoung.





	1. Mr. Sunshine runs into trouble

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is my first attempt at a multi-chaptered series that may be a bit messy bc it'll be my first time writing something long term but out of all my drafts i keep coming back to write for it so why not?
> 
> couldn't think of a good title so i just used fast pace since it has the feeling i want and it just bangs. try and enjoy lol

 "I'll be right with you!" Soonyoung chirps out when he hears the familiar sound of the small bell at the top of the door that indicates someone has walked in. He only catches a glance of the person, some short man with an expensive looking watch and equally pricey attire. Last time someone wearing things like this came in they expected some sort of special treatment, not limited to just being quick with their order but giving him their number. He works at a popular diner in the middle of Seoul, it's tucked off to the side and take a few extra turns to get to but with each passing day there are fewer dull moments- Now being one of them. 

The guy sits in isolated stool at the counter, watching Soonyoung closely when he thinks he isn't looking but quickly darts his gaze towards the menu when he turns back around to give him some sort of assurance that he'll be there as soon as possible. It doesn't go unnoticed by Soonyoung though; it irritates him, even. Guys like that coming in and acting all shy but the second he gives them an innocent smile they somehow gain this nasty confidence and blatantly flirt with him. He's not one to just tell someone off is the thing, but the unnecessarily large tips aren't really anything to complain about. He just has to put on his best, and usually fakest, smile and push through. Like he is now.

"So what can I get for ya, Boss?" He says topping off the half empty mug of black coffee that the mysterious man ordered in an unusually soft voice. Said man looked up from the menu for a second, seemingly taken aback by the nickname. "Not your thing? Sorry, I usually call new customers that to lighten the mood. What can I get for ya?" 

The man stares for awhile longer, gaze unreadable but definitely not warm so Soonyoung shoots him a soft and awkward smile that makes his cheeks dust pink and dart his eyes around everywhere but Soonyoung's face. "Just.. a croissant, I guess.." He finally says in the same soft voice as before. Soonyoung once again chirps out a polite "Got it!" and walks to the back to get a croissant off the hot rack and plates it, stopping on the way to give refills and take orders from others. Occasionally he'd glance at the guy, catching his gaze twice and chuckling at the way he gets seemingly flustered and tries to busy himself. _So he's gonna be like that.. interesting.._  

"Just let me know if there's anything else that I can get for ya, I don't bite." He says setting down the warm pastry. He's dealt with a flustered customer like this before, last time the guy came back at the end of the week and asked him out on a date. They went on a few after that but the guy was a lawyer with little to no free time and they mutually agreed it wasn't going to work. This situation seemed like that- until the man stopped stealing glances and instead worriedly stared at his phone, eventually just leaving in a rush. Soonyoung was concerned, maybe for a second but when he went to his stool and saw the owed 15 thousand won, 5 thousand of it being a tip, neatly tucked under his plate he didn't think much more of it. None of his business anyway.

 >>>

The guy doesn't show back up for another 2 weeks, this time accompanied by a taller, angelic looking man with blonde hair that just brushes past his shoulders. Soonyoung doesn't yell his usual "I'll be right with ya," seeing as he's too busy trying to help a family decipher what their cute little 3 year old is saying but he overhears their odd conversation as they walk to sit in the same stool as his first visit.

"Our _poor_ Boss! How will he _ever_ recover from harming his precious ''street cred,'' losing a bar fight between 5 other men so he abandons it for some run of the mill diner-"

"Don't call me Boss around here, just don't speak too much in general actually." 

Soonyoung lets out a questioning hum to himself and grabs two coffee mugs, setting them in front of the men and putting on his brightest smile. "Hello again!" He says, pouring black coffee into one cup and the normal coffee, that has milk and sugar, in the other. "And it's nice to meet you! What can I get for you both?" 

The blonde haired man smirks into his mug, giving the familiarly short one a teasing side eye. He returns it with a glare but shifts his eyes to the menu and clears his throat, giving the same nervous 'Umm,' like the previous time. The blonde watches in awe for a minute before speaking up. 

"What would you recommend? We haven't eaten all morning." The shorter shoots another look, not a glare but nothing friendly, and the other just shrugs. Soonyoung gives his same contagious smile and grabs another menu to point out the breakfast special, making sure to tell them he enjoys the shredded hash browns over the patty. The blonde pushes his hair behind both ears with a small chuckle, telling him they'll take just that. When he comes back with the food and refills on their coffee the shorter stops him for a second.

"Oh! Excuse me..." 

"Soonyoung's the name," He interrupts in the second of silence.

"Yes, uh, Soonyoung. Can I get a croissant as well?" He says in that same soft voice that Soonyoung can't help but chuckle at because of how different it was from the stern one he overheard when they first walked in. "Sure thing," He replies and walks to the window that separates the kitchen to ask his cook, Jun, to pass him one of the the buttery breads. He's given it with a complaining groan, they were oddly swamped today and Seokmin was trying his best not to burn the multiple pancakes and pile of scrambled eggs on the grill. He couldn't even completely set down the plate before he was being called over to take someone's order, refill someone's coffee or juice, or take a tray of orders to a table. He leaned against the counter with a large sigh when the clock hit 1 A.M., meaning they thankfully no longer gave the morning special. It was now just pastries, sandwiches, and oddly enough, ramen. It's not typical to have on a diner menu but Jun liked how easy it was to make and Soonyoung didn't mind eating all the leftovers, it also sold surprisingly well. 

"It's been a busy day," The blonde haired man says when Soonyoung goes to refill their coffee cups again. Soonyoung nods in agreement, still giving his bright smile despite being awfully tired. "And you're still a ball of sunshine..! Just how do you do it?" He continues on playfully and Soonyoung giggles in response, shrugging as he walks off to refill the cup of some older man at the other side of the lunch counter. He apparently overhears and decides to contribute as well. "Yeah, a pretty face like yours shouldn't have to work so hard. Why don't you take an early leave for the day and I'll take you out for a good time?" 

Soonyoung lets out a forced chuckle and waves the man off, trying to get out of the conversation by asking the outer booths if they need anything. Some agree to have their drinks refilled but afterwards he's left with nothing to do and the guy takes it as his opportunity to prove that he really does want to take Soonyoung out. "I'd make sure you don't work even as half as hard as you did today, sweat isn't good for such delicate skin."

Again Soonyoung forced a laugh, not trying to ruin the mood but also trying to get himself out of the situation. "Ah, it's nothing. Just making money and keeping busy, you know?" 

"Nonsense, when's your break? I'll treat you to-" The man was cut off by the sound of what seemed like metal hitting the marble counter harshly. They both turn to see that the shorter of the two had slammed his ringed hand on the table, teeth gritting as he growls out "Take a hint and lay off man." Soonyoung notices the angelic man's expression twist into something uncharacteristically devilish and he sets his chin into his palm, admiring the situation play out. 

The older man lets out a scoff, mumbling "Don't tell me what to do, pip squeak.." into his cup of coffee and diverting his eyes to the cork board behind Soonyoung. 

"Wanna say that a little louder, you old bast-" He shoots, deep voice laced with spine shivering anger but the blonde elbows him before he can finish the curse. Most likely because there was a staring family at the far right with an only half curious 6 year old, he seems much too busy trying to perfectly stuff potato chips into his tuna sandwich. The older man stares intensely at the two, roughly setting down his coffee cup which makes Soonyoung wince a little. "I said don't tell me what to do, pip squeak!" He yells this time and continues in the same volume, pointing a finger at the blonde but keeping a heavy stare on the shorter. "And what do you care? Seems you already have a decent piece to leave with, I don't see why you need to ruin my-" Again the man is cut off from speaking, this time the blonde slams his hand on the table not able to say a word before the younger, black haired man is practically barking. 

"We are NOT together and you don't have anything besides a nasty attitude and a plea for my foot up your a-" Another interruption. This time it's because the older threw his mug in the two's direction, neither get hit by it but the remaining coffee does stain the shoulder of the blondes completely white suit jacket. He grimaces at the small stain and grabs a few napkins to try and dab it out, pursing his bottom lip into a pout when he realises the brown color is there to stay. Meanwhile the other is absolutely fuming, "WHAT THE HELL?" he yells and hops off the stool in a threatening manner, glancing back to look at the completely smashed mug. The old man only mimics his actions, carelessly making the condiments and spices on the counter fall over when he slams both fists on the table. Soonyoung takes the nervous looks on the other customers faces as his cue to intervene. 

"Now, now boys! It's quite alright, why don't we just sit down and I'll get you something other than coffee. It seems to be riling you up.." He sends the shorter a soft smile and it seems to work, something in his eyes turning a little less hostile when they briefly make eye contact. He doesn't sit, only watches the older man with a stern look and they end up in some sort of cowboy stare down. 

The air is still thickly tense and the same onlooking family from before is now calling Soonyoung over to put their things into to-go containers. He happily obliges and gives multiple soft apologies, slipping the 6 year old an extra bag of chips. The kid squeals happily in response, giving bows all the way out the door and even one from behind, finishing with a small wave. After they leave, only the troublesome 3 and a very frequent regular remained. The regular being his fluffy haired Chinese best friend, Xu Minghao. 

Hao, as he exclusively called him (besides when he was teasing him, then he used "8" which was a short of his stage name "The 8") was sitting in a booth that was closer to the door. He was obviously tense despite hiding behind a fashion magazine that Soonyoung isn't entirely sure where he got. He slid a cup of warm water into his booth, attempting to give a reassuring smile in exchange for his very upset and worried glare. It didn't work all too well, probably because the two men were still stubbornly refusing to sit down before the other. It would have been a funny sight if the shorter man's glare didn't turn into that of knives.

"Would you all like a milkshake? I just recently restocked the cherries and you know what that means..!" He lets out a breathy chuckle, hoping to receive some sort of answer and for the mood to lighten. It does on one end- well, more of a shift than a lighten- since the older man gives a smirk and breaks the stare down, giving Soonyoung a good once over before chuckling out a response that completely ignores his question. 

"I'd like to have you with a cherry on top," Soonyoung looks over to the pair, the blonde has a small smile on his lips, not from the old mans comment, but from the way the shorter reacts. He calmly cleans his spot, pointing at the blonde to follow, and leaves the exact amount plus a 20 thousand won tip, explaining with a strained smile that it's for the mug. After adjusting his shiny watch and motioning for the taller to walk ahead he very quietly whispers something to the older man, eliciting a very wide eyed reaction and what seems to be a choke on nothing but air. The older stands obediently and walks to the door, suddenly turning to apologise for his behavior almost robotically. Soonyoung doesn't respond, just watches them walk out together. Then the blonde pokes his head into view behind the glass door and gives a wave. Soonyoung gives a smile in return, it's a bit lopsided and looks more confused than he meant for but the other just giggles and then, they're off. And he's left in open confusion. 

"OK, what the actual  _fuck_ was that?" Minghao breaks the silence and Soonyoung's completely blank stare at the door. "I mean, I'm glad that guy's gonna be taught a lesson I would have eventually just thrown this magazine at the back of his head if that short dude hadn't spoken up but..." His sentence trails off as he attempts to look out the small window with the wooden frame that sits above a booth next to his. He's climbing on the back of one seat and onto another, it would have been embarrassing if anyone else was there but Soonyoung can't say he hasn't done the same thing. Soonyoung can't see outside of it himself but he knows it overlooks the parking lot in front and there probably isn't anyone out there anymore. "When you say taught a lesson..." Soonyoung starts but doesn't finish.

"Roughed around? Based on the many gangster films I've seen-" 

"Hao.."

"OK, just the 3." 

"That's not what I meant!" Soonyoung drums his fingers nervously on the table, flickering his gaze from the spot the two sat at to the front door that made his heart feel a little heavier to look at. Something felt off, obviously, but Soonyoung just couldn't put his finger on what exactly that was. The only connections he could make were the over heard conversation and the expensive attire. Did he want to think the guy was a a gang leader? No, he didn't even want to think he was in a gang. But all points perfectly framed such a picture. Hao going on about this gang movie with two ruthless twin brothers doesn't help at all. Hes seen it, and knows how it ends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is really short and i hate how short it is but the ending felt right.. i have something nearly finished that i'll try (most likely) to get out tomorrow but bear with me here. idk if i should tell the title of the movie i'm referring to.. if you know it, comment! it's really my all time favorite movie honestly.


	2. A temporary gift?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> questions, questions, questions, when will they be answered..

Soonyoung didn't, and honestly couldn’t, dwell more on the situation that happened yesterday. Some things, like the two being apart of some gang, seemed too far fetched for his liking and others, like how the old man may or may not be... he’s never actually finished that thought, are just too much for him to fathom. He’s just a diner worker, what on Earth would a gangster take interest in him for? It’s quite flattering, honestly, but he can’t help being a bit terrified by the way things played out. He did some pondering to himself, deciding it best for Minghao to not visit today because he’d just take Soonyoung’s thoughts and make them ten times worse. He still hasn’t stopped mentioning that ‘’based on a true story’’ gangster movie that Soonyoung regretfully spent the night rewatching.

“I’m just gonna be there to protect you of course, what if he comes back?” Minghao says watching Soonyoung flip through the keys on his key ring to find the one that opens the back door of the diner. “And?” Soonyoung says finally finding it and giving the other an unamused look. “And..? And I love you!” He says in response watching Soonyoung put the key in the door. “Hao, we both know you just want to see if the guy comes back and does anything else.” The honey skinned boy lets out an offended scoff, setting his palm against his chest to make it more convincing.

“After his first visit he didn’t come back for another 2 weeks, I doubt he’ll come back this time. I doubt he’ll come back at all really, I’m kind of scared of him and I’m sure he thinks that as well.” Soonyoung explains, opening the door and putting the key back in his pocket. He has to use all his strength to block his best friend from barging in, it eventually works and he turns on his heels yelling back “Goodbye, I love you!” in an angry voice that makes Soonyoung laugh.

Soonyoung stands leaning against the counter waiting for jun to arrive so they can open up, he usually shows at 8 and doesn't have everything prepared for opening until 9. Soonyoung looks up at the apple shaped clock on the wall, a little surprised that it was 8:30 and there was no sign of the cook. He stood to peak out the small window that looked over the parking lot and saw a completely black car, the windows too tinted for him to see anything inside. He may not have ever seen Jun's car with his own eyes but a car like that is far from what he'd imagined.

Soonyoung was never one to jump to the scariest conclusions, he's always been an optimist and he wouldn’t put Jun’s secretly dark side past him, so he steps outside. He looks in the direction of the car's windshield, hoping to make eye contact with whoever's inside. If it's jun, he'll probably step out and explain what he's doing, if it isn't the person will most likely drive away. Soonyoung stands next to the glass front doors of the diner for a few minutes, not breaking eye contact from where he thinks the driver's seat is and eventually he hears the locks click. He waits expectantly, walking a few steps closer when the driver's door slowly starts to open.

Instead of the tall, cat eyed Jun he's expecting to walk out, it's a slightly taller stone faced man. Unsurprisingly he's wearing a very expensive and monotone grey colored suit, his fancy leather shoes gleaming in the now risen sun. Soonyoung doesn’t want to think about what’s in the box he may or may not be holding- he didn’t get a good enough look and he isn’t going to make any more attempts.

It only takes Soonyoung half a second to stop in his tracks and turn to head inside. Maybe the guy isn't trying to see him, maybe the guy is just parking there and going to some nearby house or store. With a face like that Soonyoung won't ask him to park elsewhere, the guy could park in the handicap spot and Soonyoung wouldn't bat an eye. Then the guy speaks up to stop Soonyoung. A simple "Hey.." is all he says and Soonyoung's heart falls into his stomach. The guy's voice is as deep as the rumble in his expensive car, completely nonchalant and like he isn't one of the scariest people to park suspiciously early in front of the diner.

"We- We aren't open quite yet, sorry!" Soonyoung squeaks out without looking back and can only hear a loud sigh before the door slams shut and he's lying in the booth Minghao usually sits in, heart racing with fear. It only gets worse when there's a tap on the glass doors. After a few minutes Soonyoung hears a muffled argument, the man's deep voice rumbling in the air while a different voice overlaps sounding somewhat frustrated. Then it's silent.

Like an answer to Soonyoung's prayers he can hear Jun walk in the back door. He's singing some song in Chinese and Soonyoung has never been more relieved to see his bashful smile in all his life. So much so he practically jumps into the man's arms, forgetting that he's nearly an hour late. Even though Soonyoung doesn't say anything, the cook is apologising profusely while he rushes to get everything set up. "You're lucky you're handsome," Soonyoung says wagging his finger at the other playfully.

While Jun gets the kitchen ready Soonyoung decides to go around and wipe all the counters and tables again, he doesn’t notice how mindlessly and slow he’s doing it until Jun leans over the window that looks into the kitchen and calls his name a few times. “You alright there, bud?” He says wiping his hands dry with a dirt stained white cloth.

“Oh, yeah! Just.. peachy.” Soonyoung replies a bit more sarcastically than he meant. Jun lets out a big huff while he pushes himself from the window, Soonyoung can hear him wince when he kicks the broom onto the floor trying to make his way out. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong,” He says setting Soonyoung’s favorite chocolate chip muffin on the counter with a glass of milk. Soonyoung shook his head slightly to himself when he sat willingly on the stool, Jun knows all too well that he’ll comply when it comes to food.

“Well..” Soonyoung starts and then takes a big bite of the muffin, “don’t get too freaked out now, I’m sure it was nothing.” He waves his free hand while he talks, then uses it to grab the cup and take a big gulp. “There was this car out front this morning, it was big and black and the windows were too tinted for me to see. I just assumed that it was you since I’ve never actually seen your car, isn’t that crazy? We’ve been working here together for 3 years, you’ll have to show it to me later.” Soonyoung takes a break to bite into the muffin again, ignoring the anticipating looks on his coworkers face.

“Ok, well, I stepped out to see who it was and it obviously wasn’t you. It was some guy, around your height, with this super deep voice. He called out to me and no joke I freaked at how deep it was, I told him we weren’t open and ran inside to lay in that booth.” He stops temporarily to take another bite while he points at the booth. “Thing is he knocked on the door! That steady pace of tapping made it ten times worse I tell you.. He might’ve been trying to give me something? I didn’t really give him a chance, clearly.” Soonyoung punctuated his sentence, as nonchalantly as possible, by stuffing what was left of the muffin in his mouth. It didn’t work seeing as Jun’s eyes were still wide with worry and he was making his way to the door. Good thing he left out the muffled conversation he heard, that probably would have just made it worse.

“Come on Junnie, I’m sure it was nothing. Let’s get this place up and running, huh?” Soonyoung encourages and slams the rest of his milk before spinning around in his chair with a goofy smile on his face. The smile slowly falters, a curious look overtaking his expressions as he watches Jun hesitantly pick up a box that was sat in front of the glass doors.

Soonyoung straightens up in his seat when he watches Jun look around the area a few times and then back at him with his same worrying expression. Soonyoung shrugs in response, waiting for him to walk in and let the door close before he takes the box and sets in on the counter for examining. It's the size of a present box, nothing to big but not small either. It's a simple brown box with a silver 'J' on the top and oddly enough a sharpied on smiley face. "Theories?" Jun says while poking at it with a straw. Soonyoung wants to giggle, but a man like _that_ brings him a box like _this._ Who wouldn't be hesitant?

Before he can make a decision on whether he wants to open it or not, Jun flicks the top off. Soonyoung darts his eyes to the roof, waiting for Jun's reaction before looking at what's inside for himself. Jun doesn't react as big as Soonyoung would imagine if what he thoughtwas in the box was, he didn't really know what he thought was in there but it couldn't have been anything good, so he deems it safe to look.

"It's.. a mug." Jun voices Soonyoung's thoughts aloud. It's just a simple white mug, though it does have a ring of gold around the lip and a matching stripe down the side of the handle. It doesn't take Soonyoung long to piece together who this was from.

"That guy…" He whispers to himself and reaches into the box to pick it up. He observes the gold closely, hoping it isn't _actually_ gold, but is a bit disappointed to know that it is in fact real gold. (Soonyoung's bought his mother a gold necklace before, he knows what real gold is like compared to the fake stuff; he just isn't sure how much it's worth with just a look.) Jun puts his hands out and makes grabby motions like a child waiting for candy and Soonyoung hands it over, taking a second to look in the box again and notice a small post-it note stuck to the bottom. He subtly grabs it and stuffs it in his pocket, making sure Jun doesn't see and takes the mug from the others hands.

"What is it? Like… what is it?" Jun asks face the epitome of confusion. Soonyoung carefully sets it back in the box, and tries to decide if he should just come clean. It's not that serious, no need to lie, right?

"Must be a secret admirer…" Soonyoung doesn't lie completely, it technically _is._ But the motives behind this particular gift goes much deeper. How deep is hopefully on the post-it.

"Wow, Hyung is popular~" Jun singsongs and stands to walk around the counter to make his way into the kitchen. Soonyoung laughs, their birthdays are only a few days apart so they agreed to not use honorifics but Jun loves to break it out when he's making fun. "I only need my precious _dongsaeng,_ no person will ever sing Childhood while washing dishes half as good as him!" Soonyoung plays on, trying his best to hold his snickers.

"Like Lo Ta-Yu himself..." Jun agrees happily, "Now let's get to work!" Soonyoung yells his customary "Yaha!" and shakes his fist in the air while he turns the switch to 'on' for the neon sign that reads "어서오세요" then flips the, more traditional, laminated "Welcome! We’re open" sign on the window.

"You can never be to sure when it comes to the neon signs, what if it stops working!" Is what he reasoned when he started working at the "Carat Diner" and took the time to make the English sign on his own. Minghao was the manager back then, but left a few months later to get a more flexible job. Sadly he gave the manager position to his replacement, which ended up being Jun. Soonyoung took the news with a pinch of salt but got over it when he realised the manager position didn't really mean anything in the end.   

Now Soonyoung was sat on the same stool he was when he witnessed what was inside the box, holding his hand in his pocket to fidget with the end of the post-it. He knew business would be slow for now so he decided on reading it, it was put in there for a reason after all. He takes a look over his shoulder to see Jun doing a quick check on fridge inventory and decides he can quickly read the note in peace.

 

 **I know I already said the tip was for the mug but I forgot the old man didn't pay for his food.** **Thanks,**

**Jihoon.**

 

Before Soonyoung can read it over for a third time and attempt to drain answers from the little piece of paper the familiar ring of the bell on the door makes him shoot up. "I'll be right with you!" He says brightly to a familiar customer of his, pushing the cloudy thoughts away to get the man's, Jonghyun, regular order. They make their normal niceties, Soonyoung acting as if he didn't- _is he still?_ \- go through one of the strangest things. In the middle of their conversation about Soonyoung's newest pair of dancing shoes, the normal 'morning rush' starts up and Soonyoung has to set himself behind the counter.

The rest of the week goes smoothly, Soonyoung may be on edge when he looks outside in the morning and occasionally his heart rate will pick up when a box is left at the back door but every time it's been napkins and assorted cutlery so he's gotten over it. Soonyoung laughed to himself when he gasped at a particularly tall 10 year old, in his defense the kid had on a mask and deceivingly fake gold watch his grand father apparently gave to him. Minghao couldn't get enough of that story. Soonyoung wouldn't have told him if he didn't need a story to get out of telling his overprotective best friend about the mysterious present on the front door, he swore Jun to secrecy when he pulled him to the side after they all sat down and caught up on how business was going. Jun laughed when Soonyoung threatened him with blackmail, "Like me when I was younger," he said to Soonyoung's confused face.

 _Jihoon…_ He thought repeatedly while he was examining the unused cup still sitting in the brown box. How can you just buy a cup lined with _gold_ and expect Soonyoung to _use_ it? Jun's asked at least 10 times why he doesn't just pawn it and he's being one hundred percent honest when he replies with "I don't know…"

 

>>>

 

It's currently been another 2 weeks since the mysterious present on their doorstep. Jun's been counting aloud while Soonyoung's only silently marked it on the work white board, disguising it as the marker of how long he's been without coffee. It's not necessarily untrue, he has been that long without a cup of coffee, but probably because of how much the curiosity is eating at him and keeping him more awake then any amount of caffeine could possibly. He's even taken time to talk about it with Minghao, much to his displeasure.

"Why don't you just ask around. 'Sorry to bother but have you seen an angry and short mafia looking guy? He was walking around with some scared old man and a real life angel.'" Minghao teases while he sips on his tea. Soonyoung throws a sugar packet in his direction, glancing at the table over to see if they could over hear the strange yet dangerous conversation they were casually having. When they laugh loudly about some joke he didn't quite hear Soonyoung relaxes in his seat. Spending his break with Minghao was something he did weekly, Jun usually tried to cook up a simple traditional Chinese dish and Soonyoung would use his very minimal Chinese to try and hold a conversation with the two when Jun would ask them how it was.

Soonyoung stood to clean his spot while the two laughed at him repeat “Shudaizi” and “Sheishei” for the fifth time, after all these years of him having these lunches he can’t remember anything past those two phrases and other basic words most already knew. Jun tells one last joke, Soonyoung swears it's about himself since he can hear his name, to Minghao and makes his way to the kitchen. Soonyoung gives the best scowl he can despite the overbearing smile making its way onto his face and takes Hao’s empty plates. The other gives an innocent smile and adds his empty cup of tea on the pile of dirty dishes, requesting another cup and a piece of cheesecake. Soonyoung wants to argue against but then he realises that he’s back on duty and he’s had enough of Hao threatening him with bad online reviews. Soonyoung isn't even sure if they have a website but he won't take the risk. 

"Oh, excuse me!" A deep voice says to Soonyoung. He was too busy trying to balance the unstable pile of dishes in his arms to access all the customers, he's been in a good mood so he isn't expecting anything more out of the ordinary to happen. Hao must've jinxed him.

"Hello again!" The blonde says when Soonyoung looks up and the pile of dishes nearly go falling out of his arms and onto the floor. He manages to catch the plates and bowls but the cup falls before he can collect it and the sound of his yelp is louder than the breaking of the glass. When opens his eyes it turns out the man sitting with the blonde caught the cup just before it could hit the ground, his big doe eyes looking at Soonyoung amused when he sets the cup back on top of the pile.

"We're so sorry! He didn't mean to startle you, did you _angel_?" The blonde gives a sheepish smile and shakes his head, bowing his head sorrily. All Soonyoung can manage to let out is a sigh, sounding more like he's catching his breath and decides to excuse himself to put the dishes in the sink and collect himself. He paces in front of the fridge for a minute, thinking about nothing yet everything at the same time. He has nothing to think of, what is there to think of? He's only seen them once, well the blonde once, the other he's never. Should he ask them about.. well everything? Maybe they'll just come clean and tell him he has absolutely nothing to worry about, they're just rich businessman and not Mafia that most likely have blood on their hands. Maybe he can just make a quick run out the back an-

"Hello? Soonyoung?" Jun whispers waving his hand in front of Soonyoung's face slowly. The withdrawn waiter blinks a few times before giving a grunt in response, shooting his best smile like he wasn't just considering fleeing the country. Jun let's out a small chuckle and hands him a tray of orders, telling him which order goes to which table and that he needs to clean up a small mess he made. Soonyoung nods along, letting the familiarity of Jun's voice calm him down enough to continue the day and build the courage to ask the 'angel' what he's been dying to know. After a reassuring pat on the back and a few "Jiayou!"s Soonyoung delivers all the orders with his radiant smile and quickly cleans the pile of dropped napkins the clumsy cook made in the storage room. He doesn't miss the innocent smiles the blonde sends when they make eye contact. 

Soonyoung takes a few deep breaths again, letting his brain clear and heart rate calm. Suddenly he remembers the gold mug and pushes aside a few boxes of straws to retrieve it from the back of a shelf. Something about finally getting the answers he's looking for give Soonyoung more energy and he kicks open the door to the storage (startling Jun) and marches straight to the booth, sliding the box in front of the blond and sits across from the two. The blonde looks it over confused, not even bothering to open the box before he turns to the broad shouldered man with questioning eyes. He looks to the box, then to Soonyoung, then to the box again and shrugs. "You.. know Shua? Did he tell you to give this to me?" The blonde says finally, opening the box and pulling the mug out.

"Shua? Who's Shua?" Soonyoung asks in udder disbelief. 

"He's my best friend. He own's the shop that this came from, you got it from Shining Diamond, right?" The blonde hands the mug to the man next to him and looks at the lid closer, running his finger over the silver 'J' at the top of the box.

"Wha- No? This- You guys gave it to me, it was left out front a few weeks ago. Oh!" Soonyoung checks every pocket on his person before groaning in frustration, he kept the post-it in his pocket for a while at first but he must've let if in a different pair of pants. "There was a note that said the old man didn't pay so you gave me this. What happened to the old man by the way?" Soonyoung lowers his voice to nearly a whisper towards the end and two stare at each other for a second before bursting out in laughter. Soonyoung drums his fingers on the table impatiently, trying to comprehend what any of this new information means before rushing to conclusions.

"This must've been from Woozi," When he notices Soonyoung's eyebrows scrunch in confusion he continues, "the gremlin that you put some spell on. He was _flustered_ , Coups! And I've never seen him lose his temper so quickly, it was amazing." The doe eyed man- Coups his name is?- chuckles and gently sets his hand on the other's arm that's been waving around, attempting to calm him down. "Not even _I_ have gotten some sort of present from him, you should consider yourself lucky." The blonde finishes bitterly and leans his body into the booth, looking over the mug comfortably when the other hands it to him in exchange for wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "So then what was this about? Showing off?" He says playfully which earns a small nudge from 'Coups'. Soonyoung has to take another minute to think about what he's going to say, so much had just been thrown at him and he isn't entirely sure what to do with it all. The thing that sticks with him most is 'you should consider yourself lucky,' it reminds him of all the previous rich men that have come in and expected Soonyoung's attention in exchange for their unwanted flirts. It angers him, a lot more than he expected it to, and he completely forgets to ask why they said 'Woozi' instead of the apparent 'Jihoon' that signed the post-it. 

"Well tell him to keep it! Thanks but I can take care of myself." Soonyoung ignores the way the two exchange a confused and slightly worried face when he walks away in a huff. He didn't ask for him to be unexpectedly protective and do god knows what to the old man. He didn't ask for him to compensate for the broken mug with some ridiculously expensive one that felt heavy to hold when Soonyoung thought to much about it. He didn't ask for any of it and he surely won't take it when there comes the expectation of something in return he had no intentions of giving. He storms into the kitchen and demands for Jun to switch jobs with him for the day, Jun complains that he's been doing both jobs for the entirety of Soonyoung's conversation but complies when he renews his threat of blackmail with no questions asked. He may have been taking his anger out on him but seeing the two gone with the box makes him feel better- well best he can when he was only given more questions in the conversation he was hoping would enlighten him. Now that he thinks about it actually, overwhelmed would better describe his head space. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually got it out by the time i said... god bless. anyway, the next update probably won't be as planned and i don't know if it'll be some time in the middle of the week or maybe next month but just know it's comin'
> 
> jonghyun is referring to nuest's JR btw. wonu says stream bet bet.


	3. Old friends, new faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> that chan's one fun guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had this written yesterday but i wanted to leave a gap in between so i don't set some expectation i won't uphold haha
> 
> i have to name the chapters so they don't get lost or mixed up and this one was honestly named "ch 3 bc i'm dumb i guess.." sounds about right

 

Of course Hao overheard parts of the conversation. Of course he’s angry his best friend didn’t tell him what was happening in the first place. Of course he’s even more worried that all the stress he’s been bottling up will eventually burst out of his sunshiny face and he’ll lose it. Of course he’s now dragged Soonyoung to their old dancing studio so they can relieve some stress and Soonyoung can maybe lose some of the morning cheesecakes he’s decided to have one too many times. It isn’t his fault they're so tempting.

Soonyoung relishes in the familiar scent of sweat and floor wax, hoping the usual strong smell of Jun’s cologne and perfume combo overpowers it at some point seeing that they all decided to close the diner for a day and dance together. Jun seemed to practically vibrate at the idea of them all dancing together but he really _did_ vibrate when Soonyoung promised to introduce him to one of their old dance partners and show him a few of their old routines. Soonyoung was excited himself to meet up with the guy, if he can remember correctly, Chan was only 16 when he started at the studio and he picked up routines and steps faster than Soonyoung did when he was his age. The kid was timid at first, blushing heavily when he received praise and tripping over his words when he would suggest a change in a certain set of movements; but eventually Soonyoung and Minghao made friends with him and they became a well known trio in the studio. Their personalities balanced each other out and people always looked forward to what they were going to do next. Eventually Soonyoung had to leave to find an actual job and focus more on school.

He lost contact with the two when he completely smashed his phone on the first day of his new high-class college and never found the time to makes his way back to the studio and get their numbers. Luckily he ran into Hao when he was switching jobs and they picked up their friendship exactly how they left it, like peas in a pod. Soonyoung was completely astonished to find out that Hao still worked in dancing and even now did it professionally, mostly for groups in China but he’ll occasionally get asked to consult in dances at studios he visits around Korea. Soonyoung envies him actually, he’s always been told he could become a professional dancer but his father wants him to focus on majoring in agricultural economics and farmer science. He would’ve argued against it if his father didn’t threaten to cut him off completely. Now he spends whatever time he isn’t at the university, at the diner. He was too scared to go back to the dance studio and too embarrassed to ask Hao to take him there.

But now he’s happy to say that he’s here, smiling brightly at his sweat covered friend with the ridiculous stage name of ‘Dino’ that’s now running in their direction in utter disbelief and excitement. Soonyoung chuckles to himself when he physically cringes at his old stage name ‘Hoshi’ that he made too long ago to remember what he was thinking at that time. They stare at each other for a few seconds in observation, Chan’s years of dancing are very apparent in how muscular he is. He still has that innocent smile and his hair is now died a dirty blonde that makes him look more mature than Soonyoung remembers. “They grow so fast..” Soonyoung teases, nudging Minghao in his side. They all laugh for a minute and Soonyoung looks at the wall with mirrors covering pretty much every space to see Jun standing more awkwardly than usual behind him, looking around the bustling room of dancers that are warming up.

“Ah! Today we’ve brought an eager contestant. Jun, this is Chan. Chan, Jun.” Jun bows politely and Soonyoung sighs contently as he watches the three converse comfortably about how the day will go and what routines they’ll start off with. Soonyoung sets his bag down by the wall and drags Jun near the corner so they can stretch together, he remembers hearing Jun say that he’s danced for a year his senior year of high school but Soonyoung remembers how soar he gets after dancing with the other two after a while and wants to make sure they stretch properly. Soonyoung starts off with simple stretches, groaning when they get a bit more advanced and he notices how much the lack of movement over the years has stiffened his joints.

After they finish he takes a break just laying on the floor and catching his breath, ignoring the ridicules from the other three- Jun had apparently been going to the gym for the past few months and breezed through the warm-up better than Soonyoung imagined. Soonyoung was content on staying spread eagle on the floor but Chan decided to put on **_Sherlock by SHINee_ ** and goddamn it if Soonyoung isn’t about to dance and sing his heart out to this song in front of all these people like he got called up on stage at a concert.

Jun marvels in his somehow put together and wild performance where he makes every beat in the song with his mouth, as well as sing every part, and manage to (not so cleanly) yell the fanchant at a reasonable yet too loud shrill; everyone else is laughing their asses off, so all in all he’s satisfied. Chan receives a line of high fives from people, some not recognizing Soonyoung at first but knowing instantly when he rolled his body wildly at the start of the chorus and others that just really enjoyed the performance. Minghao watches Soonyoung do things like this at least every other week so at one point he became immune to Soonyoung’s antics but it doesn’t stop the crazy amount of blush he has from second hand embarrassment, he underestimated how shameless Soonyoung was apparently.

“I can’t believe you did _that_ in front of all these people,” Minghao has an amused smile on his face despite the prominent look of wanting to pretend like he doesn’t know Soonyoung in any way. He offers Soonyoung a water bottle and fixes the headband he’s using to push his hair out of his face. Soonyoung cleans the bottle of any drops of water in a matter of seconds and slides it in their bags so they can continue with whatever else they’re doing for the day, he isn't lying when he says he just poured his heart and soul into that performance but the small energy it gave him isn’t going to last very long. “So! Do you remember Jam Jam?” Chan asks, rounding the three up again so they can discuss. Soonyoung forgot they were supposed to show Jun some of their older choreographies but he also _forgot_ all the old choreographies. Any SHINee dance is practically engraved in his blood but the old dances they made- especially one _that_ old- he doesn’t even remember the beat for.

“Well since Soonyoung hyung completely forgot the choreography, unsurprisingly, let’s just add Jun hyung into it!” Soonyoung tries to grimace at the sly comment but can only smile when he sees how Jun reacts, he quite honestly has never seen the man smile so largely in all his years of knowing him. Soonyoung thinks it might be a little painful. They get everything set up and take a minute to gawk at how Chan still has their playlist of songs stowed away on his phone but when they start up doing the choreography everyone’s demeanor switches to something completely professional. The moves feel familiar to Soonyoung’s body and he’s relieved to see that Jun is picking them up just as quick as he, smile never leaving his face because he gets to be center in the start- courtesy of Dino’s kindness and persistence.

The last beat ends and all four of them are laying on the ground with their hands reaching above their heads and Soonyoung lets out an unnecessarily large sigh, indicating that he is drained of all his power but he is also quite satisfied and very ready to put dancing back in his weekly schedule. Well, all that can’t be portrayed in a sigh but he hopes his message gets across because he really doesn’t have the ability to move his mouth in order to say all those words. The other three seem to notice and try their best to drag his near lifeless body towards the wall and get him prepared enough for the walk to the car. After gulping down four water bottles like he’s been deprived of any liquid for a month he has enough energy to collect his things and leave, not before exchanging phone numbers with Chan and giving him the tightest hug he can manage with his now noodle like arms.

Soonyoung threw his body into the leather seats of Minghao’s car (after laying down a towel because apparently he’s “too sweaty and gross”) and let his mind slowly drift off to the soft Chinese music he suggested the two to play. He’s always found Chinese music to be more appealing, maybe the pronunciation of the language as a whole is just more soothing to his ears than the usual ‘kpop’ that plays on the radio. They laugh at how tired he is after a few warm ups and 5 hours of a fairly simple routine but he’s too busy trying to fall asleep to defend himself. After what seems like hours of the best rest he’s gotten in months he wakes up in an unfamiliar place. At first he’s completely calm, focusing on the moonlight that’s coming from the window above him and the way the cold breeze will kiss his feet that are poking out from the bottom of the blanket because he tossed and turned so much in his sleep. Then he realises that he isn’t in his shameful twin sized bed in his small apartment with his familiar pikachu night light plugged up next to his head, instead he’s in (what he thinks to be) a queen sized bed with a fancy bedside lamp on a fancy bedside table with even fancier silk sheets and everything is just too _fancy_. He’s seen the inside of Minghao’s house and it’s nothing like this; while the dancer may enjoy expensive and beautiful things, he travels way too much to actually buy such things for his house.

Soonyoung pinches himself for a few seconds, confirming that he is in fact not dreaming and he has somehow ended up in some mysterious house that is almost certainly one he’s never been to. The last thing he can remember is laying in Hao’s car, grunting at his and Jun’s- _Jun!_ He must be in Jun’s house. Jun showed him his car and it was on the nicer side, nothing Soonyoung could afford but nothing he couldn’t save up for (in like 3 years). Soonyoung takes a few deep breaths and relaxes himself, he trusts Jun nearly as much as he trusts Hao, nothing to worry about. He finally sits up and looks around, eyes landing on a calendar that seems to be completely in English, certain days marked with writing that is also completely in English. Soonyoung tries not to freak out again, there could be some logical explanation behind his Chinese friend having an English calendar. He pulls the blanket off, the coldness of the room hitting him instantly so he looks around for his things, but doesn’t see anything around that seems to be his. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and is pleased to feel a fairly warm rug on the floor, the curliness of it’s faux fur tickling the bottom of his feet. He makes his way to the door, quietly turning the knob and opening the door so he can peak his head out quickly and take a look around. His heart rate speeds up when he hears hushed conversations down the hall but it’s not like he can jump out the window without his things and it’s not like he’s in  _that_ sort of danger. At least that’s what he thinks.

Soonyoung takes a step out, testing to see if the floor will creak like a child will test pool water to see if it’s cold. To his relief it doesn’t make a sound, although it is quite cold, and he pads quietly towards the noise. Once he’s got more of a view into the room he can see that the house is just as expensive as the bedroom, high end couches sit around a flat screen that could fill Soonyoung’s bathtub and the last thing he sees are two people huddled around a table. He lets out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding when he sees the back of Chan’s dirty blonde hair nod up and down. His heart rate doesn’t slow as much as he wishes when he notices an even taller man standing next to him. The man’s eyes are even more cat-like than Jun’s, his face small and pointed; he looks to be about Jun’s height but his aura makes him seem like a friendly relative, compared to Jun's awkward and lovable giant. They make eye contact for a second and Soonyoung freezes in his spot, eyes darting from the door to the man’s face but his body doesn’t budge from it’s spot. Finally Chan turns and gives that innocent smile that he’s used to and he can feel his muscles slightly untense, a small smile threatening to spread across his lips in return.

“Soonyoung hyung! Did you sleep well? I didn’t expect you to be awake at this hour… Do you want something to eat?” Chan shrugs off the zip up sweater he’s wearing and walks over to offer it to Soonyoung, stuffing whatever papers he was looking at on the table in his back pocket. Soonyoung accepts the sweater but only drapes it over his shoulders since he still has on his sweaty clothes from when they left the studio, after pulling it snugly over his shoulders he stares dumbly at the yet to be introduced man- hoping he’ll introduce himself. The man shoots him a smile, never breaking eye contact when he starts to gather all the papers on the table into a neat pile and set it on the marble counter in the kitchen. He grabs a bowl from one of the cupboards ahead and makes his way to the fridge, rustling around before slamming the door shut with his foot and setting a bag of grapes on the table.

“Oh, that’s Joshua hyung." Chan speaks for him, "I’m living with him and I also work at his store! We sell expensive dinnerware and stuff… Like that bowl he’s using.” Soonyoung again tenses up, clutching the sweater tightly before he takes a few steps closer to examine the bowl. It’s white and porcelain but has an intricate pattern of triangles around the lip, a ring of black on either side and gold leaves spilling out all around. Soonyoung takes a deep breath and walks back next to Chan, temporarily ignoring Joshua’s presence. “Joshua.. Like, Shua?”

“Oh, you know him already? I’ve never seen you around the store, do you know him from somewhere else?”

“No, just heard the name a few times, don’t worry about it. Can you make dumpling soup and rice?” Soonyoung looks around for his bag, sighing in relief when he finds it sitting next to the door with his phone charging on top of it.

“Sure, feel free to make yourself comfortable. Shua hyung can take you home whenever you’re ready.” Soonyoung groans when he tries to turn on his phone but is met with the charging screen that shows it’s only at 7 percent. He remembers whining to Minghao that he didn’t bring his charger and his phone died before they got in the car. _Speaking of being in the car…_

“How did I get here, by the way?”

“Minghao said he had some emergency meeting when he was 2 blocks away from the studio and ended up asking Chan to bring you home instead." Joshua speaks up this time, "You agreed to it in your sleep but by the time Chan could get you home you were out cold. He brought you here instead and I set you up in my bed.” His voice was too soft to startle Soonyoung and his words were too harmless for Soonyoung to hold anything against him, his whole demeanor radiated what the supposed ‘angel’ was suggested to. Soonyoung chuckled bitterly at the thought, making note that the two were ‘best friends’ and stood to sit and think on the couch. Did he want to bombard this nice man with questions that have yet to be answered? Absolutely. Did he want to do it around Chan and drag him into it? Absolutely not. So he devises a plan.

Chan pops out from the hallway when he hears the rice cooker ding to indicate that it was ready and chooses 3 different sets of matching bowls. He sets up the island in the middle of the kitchen nicely with spoons and small cups of tea, much like a well behaved nine year old. Soonyoung and Chan excitedly discuss old choreographic and memories from when they were younger and spent all day dancing while ‘Shua’ sat scrolling through his phone, looking up with a fond smile when Chan would excitedly tell him a story about a dance he really liked. Soonyoung couldn’t find a hint of suspicion in his body when he observed Joshua and it made him a little worried to throw questions at the other. Only a little.

Soonyoung rinsed off his dishes carefully in the sink, scared he’ll stain the expensive material but equally as scared that he’ll somehow chip it by touching any longer than he is, and collects his things. He feels a little more secure to see his phone is at 80 percent and he returns the sweater he’s had resting along his shoulders the entirety of dinner. Chan throws it to the couch and acknowledges Soonyoung’s thank yous with a warm hug that brings a smile to his face. Joshua playfully points his index and middle finger at either of his eyes and then to the youngest before he closes the door and waits to hear a lock before actually walking down the hallway. Soonyoung smiles at the interaction and walks slowly so he can take in the apartment they’re in, unsurprisingly it's just as impressive as the apartment itself. The hallways are narrow and lined with abstract paintings that looked to be originals. The key card activated doors to the stair wells seem normal to Soonyoung until they come across the fifth security guard on the same floor and his curiosity is spiked; the need to ask all his desperate questions starts to build up along with his nervous heart beat. They step out of the rotating door to a busy front street and Soonyoung recognizes it as one of the main roads near the studio, his eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees that they’re about to get into a completely black car; it’s the exact same model and has the exact same tinted black windows as the one that was parked in front of the diner the day he got the mug, but Soonyoung can tell this is a different based on the license plate- if he's learned anything from crime show's it's to take notice of license plates.

Soonyoung tries to stay as calm as possible as he sits in the passenger seat, staring into the black void of the completely tinted glass. “So, Joshua.. hyung?” The other nods, smiling politely. “I remember hearing you work with expensive dishes and stuff. What was the name of your shop again?”

“Shining Diamond.” Soonyoung hums in surprise at the man's very American pronunciation of the words.

“Right, is it a family business?”

“More or less."

Soonyoung dares a look in the other’s direction, taking note of the completely diamond encrusted cross hanging from the rear view mirror. The car is too dark to see the man and the only light that is in the car shines onto the dashboard form the sun roof. He can’t make out if the tone the other is using is something he should be cautious of but he swears the other is smirking. “Oh, whats that mean?”

“Family by affection, as they say.” Soonyoung lets out a breath of understanding and tries to focus the hands he has folded in his laps. He isn’t completely convinced but he knows exactly what he’s talking about, he considers Minghao to be the exact same thing.

“I work at a diner, if Chan hasn’t told you yet. Interesting stuff happens there all the time, you know?” the other chuckles, hand slapping the steering wheel a few times. “Really? Like what?” Soonyoung has a feeling this is some sort of test, like tricking a child into ratting themselves out, Soonyoung will gladly fall into his trap if it meant answers. “Someone left a box in front one morning before we were open, it was from your shop apparently. Had a little smiley face on it as well, which was a little weird.”

“Oh..” Joshua says, clearly sounding disappointing at the information. “Oh!..” He taps his fingers along the wheel curiously, as if he’s thinking through something that he isn’t willing to share. Soonyoung hums, hoping the silence will prompt the older to say what's on his mind. It doesn’t. “Looks like we’re here! Have a nice night now, I have a feeling I'll be seeing you again. ” Joshua interrupts the tense silence, one side of his mouth pulled up into a smirk.

Soonyoung smiles in return, not sure if he should try and poke at the meaning of the other's last sentence. He doesn't, just opens the door slowly and is relieved to see the cracked sidewalk in front of his apartment. He turns to bow and say thank you before slamming the door shut and watching it drive off. Something about the conversation makes it feel like he _gave_ more information than he was given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a few days early but happy 11th year to SHINee! go listen to i'm home by minho and then replay bc after all these years it still is one of the bet debuts in history.
> 
> it's actually surprisingly fun deciding when to stop a chapter and when to answer a previously asked question. dunno how deep i'll go down the hole of questions before i decide to unwrap them all, but look forward to it! i have a little something planned for the next chapter that i'm excited to write.  
> also hello, we all love chan. i wouldn't have written in them calling each other "hyung" bc i don't normally like it but it gives him a sort of innocence, yeah?
> 
> once again please excuse any spelling mistakes! i've had a bad case of the 'theirs' and can't differentiate them very well.. why are there so many in the english language. never watch the entirety of going seventeen the spin off w/o subs and then try to write a grammatically correct story.


	4. Mr. Sunshine runs into trouble; The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh? jihoon's perspective? who'da thunk

 

**_THAT_ ** **MORNING**

 

Jihoon quickly drags the old man into the back seat of his car and yells at his partner to hurry into the car, why the other decided to playfully poke his head into view of the door and wave goodbye is beyond him but he’s quite honestly freaking out too much to even consider it. His older, blonde companion slams the door shut and clicks on his belt buckle, a very smug expression (that Jihoon would like to smack off, regardless of the reason) is prominent on his face. Jihoon waits for the click of the older man’s seat belt before skidding out of the small parking lot as fast as he possibly can. 

Jihoon drives them to an alley two blocks away and completely shuts off the car to rest his head on the wheel and think over what the hell he just did. Besides the fact that he conciously chose to revisit a diner with a waiter, he’ll regretfully admit, is one of the most pure man he’s ever laid eyes upon. He completely lost his shit at an old man, who is now sitting in the back seat of his car with one of the most confused faces he’s see today- which is understandable.

“Now what’s the plan? Shoot him? Stab him? Throw him in the Kang River?” the annoying, long haired boy stops to gasp, “You want to call… Mingyu?!” The old man in back is shriveling into himself after each suggestion but he comically (although Jihoon isn’t laughing) whispers “Oh dear lord, have mercy..” at the dramatic pause of the last one. Jihoon lets out his usual heavy sigh of annoyance and sits up, trying his best to decide what to do in the situation he got himself into. In all his years of well thought out plans and tactical thinking when he gets mixed up into situations the average person may not be able to handle, this is a first. “Jeon- I mean, Angel.. Please unlock the man’s door.” The “Angel” does as he’s instructed and the man sits up in confusion, Jihoon can tell his fight or flight responses are kicking in and he needs to be quick with his words. He looks in the rear view mirror, channeling the previous anger he had in the diner once again to make his message clear and gives the man his scariest glare, “Don’t let me ever catch you near that diner or that  _ man _ again. I think possible consequences were previously spoken of, in case I do. For now, you’re free to go.” 

The man scurries out of the car and slams the door shut before replying, Jihoon would normally demand an ‘ok’ from someone he was threatening but based on the labored breathing of the man from just the look Jihoon gave him, he isn’t that worried. 

And then all hell breaks loose.

“Oh my god, what did you say to him?” The other is able to ask despite the lack of air in his lungs from laughing. “Seokmin is gonna  _ love _ this, we’ve had a bet on how you’ll react around someone you actually like and I hate to say that he was right. I thought you’d just completely avoid them but no! You dragged me to watch you- for the first time ever, mind you- trip over your own words around him like a 12 year old boy!” He doubles over in laughter again and has practically dented the dashboard from hitting it so much. “Then what? Threatened a man at gunpoint for flirting too aggressively? And now,” he wheezes, “you’re hiding in an alley-” 

“Jeonghan!” Jihoon interrupts in his normal stern yell but fails to hide the obsessive amount of blush that’s risen to his cheeks and ears from the awful realisation. He quite honestly  _ did _ do all of those things, much to his own personal disbelief (but not regret). The other doesn’t even react to his attempt at discipline, only muffles his laughter into his hands and continues to mumble incoherently. Jihoon’s face is turning beet red and he can’t help but curse at himself in the mirror. Never has he blushed this much, it’s embarrassing to say the least, so he does what he knows best: threaten.

“Cheol has told me too many times that I can’t shoot or stab you,” he starts, and sees the other try to quiet their laughter enough to hear the rest of it. “But he never said anything about blackmail.”

 

**_THAT_ ** **EVENING**

Jihoon successfully gets rid of Jeonghan, exchanging the devil in disguise for his enabling counterpart. Jihoon’s thoughts were filled with what happened previously in the day as soon as he was sat in the car by himself, after his head stopped swimming with Soonyoung, Soonyoung, Soonyoung, he remembered the old man throwing his cup in their direction. Jihoon has no problem with money so he paid for the mug, seeing as the man would probably be too scared to do it on his own when Jihoon threatened with the gun that wasn’t actually on him at the time. His first rule was to always carry a weapon on himself but when he hesitantly stepped out of the car onto the dry pavement of the diner parking lot he didn’t feel the need to carry it around with him. The man still believed him nonetheless.

Jihoon gets taken from his deep thought by a knocking on the passenger side window. Unsurprisingly it’s just the person he was looking for. 

“Oh, hey Shua.”

“You sitting out here to observe me again? Jeonghan put you up to something?” Jihoon laughs breifly to himself; there was a time when Jeonghan sent him to watch over what Joshua did all day. Whenever he was asked why he’d just say “observing, captain’s orders.” and stay parked outside. In all actuality they were planning a surprise party and wanted to make sure Joshua didn’t wander off. It’s easy planning surprise parties in their line of business, the surprises are truly surprising. Right now was different though. 

“Another gift,” Jihoon stepped out of the driver’s side and onto the busy road, hesitant when he opened his door and careful when he walked around to get to the sidewalk. Joshua gave him a knowing hum, this was something he did at least once a month- just under different circumstances. His father (no his father isn’t some nation wide known mafia boss with an ‘in the making’ mafia son. He’s a normal, wealthy, hard working man that has no idea his son does the things he does.. or that he’s gay.) usually sets him up on blind dates with family friends and tells him to bring some sort of gift. Jihoon knows at the end of the day he’ll just break off the whole thing with some excuse and never see the woman again so instead of the typical flowers, he gives them an expensive dish from Shua’s shop.

“Think Seokmin’ll like her?” Oh, and there’s that. Jihoon ushers them into Seokmin’s direction. They usually like his over-enthusiastic smile and height; Jihoon grimaces at the thoughts.

“Enough to see her again or enough to at least give her a ride home?” Jihoon offers sarcastically as he browses a few of the most expensive mugs on the shelf, he ignores the raised brow of his tall American friend. 

“Well, you never know.” Joshua says and they share a moment of laughter. Joshua was the guinea pig when it came to relationships with ‘commoners’ (as Jeonghan liked to call them). He was in a really serious relationship, whether guy or girl Jihoon’s never heard that detail of the story, but he let them spend the night on a bad day and they saw something commoners shouldn't. Joshua could've paid them off, framed them for a crime they didn't commit, hell, just let them go off the grid and live together; but he didn't. He was young, reckless, too new to the business at the time to know how to handle it properly. Whenever they ask him how he feels he, without fail, will say: "Right place, wrong time."

Now he works in their quote unquote headquarters, keeping the expensive shop well kept and safe. Never getting his hands dirty and never listening to graphic details on jobs. Jihoon admires him for that.

"That's one fine mug you got there. Must be someone you don't wanna make enemies with. Don't let her anywhere near Seokmin if that's the case," Jihoon looks over the cup again, his head spinning with nervousness even though he picked one of the more simple ones. He usually gets things on the cheaper side of expensive, this one is very much the expensive side of expensive. He gives a weak chuckle as Joshua sets it in the box and types it in on the register to Jihoon's 'special tab', they both gasp in surprise when it shows that this one will be the gift that fills the list completely. "You could buy a town with all these gifts, let's hope you figure something out this time. Good luck and all that," Joshua sets the lid on and stops for a second to think, then proceeds to pull out a sharpie from his pocket and draw on a smiley face. Jihoon forces a smile and waves as he walks out the door, he really does hope this present means more than the others.

 

**_THAT_ ** **NIGHT**

Jihoon is now sitting in the passenger seat of his car, staring at the starry sky with his hands clutching a box. Oh, looks like he’s in the parking lot of the diner too. That’s funny. Until it’s not. Until he feels his heart pounding in his chest uncomfortably and it feels like his palms will sweat through the cardboard box holding the expensive gift. “Uh, Woozi?” He must be dreaming, this must all be a dream. What a soothing voice that was trying to speak to him. “Jihoon!” 

Jihoon jumps a little, shifting in his seat for no reason and finally turning to give the voice a response, “Hey, what’s up Wonwoo?” The sigh from Wonwoo brings Jihoon back, he remembers why he’s here and what he’s doing and for the first time in a long time, he’s scared. Well, nervous is what Jeonghan called it but the emotions that aren’t angry or tired just sort of blend together at this point. 

“It’s now 11:59 and we’re parked in the parking lot of,” Wonwoo takes a second to squint his eyes out the window and try to see the unlit neon sign of the establishment, to no avail. “Some fucking place."  _ Sunshine diner…  _ Jihoon corrects in his head. Wonwoo sighs again and reaches to the lever that brings the seat back, he yelps a little when it falls quicker than he thought and Jihoon would have laughed. His ass off in fact, the man's voice is as deep as a roll of thunder but it sounded more like a squeak in that moment, but did Jihoon mention he's in  _ the parking lot of the Sunshine Diner?  _ He'd be surprised if he remembers to breath.

"Wake me when what we need to do needs to get done." Jihoon nods even though the other isn't looking and if he was it would be a little difficult to see. Now Jihoon remembers why he brought along Wonwoo; he's never one to ask questions. Do what needs to be done and move on- that's what he used to say. He doesn't need to say it anymore, he just does it. 

_ Ding!  _ Jihoon jumps at the noise and nearly drops the box out his hand when his leg jerks up in surprise. "Sorry, that was my phone." Now he remembers why he considered  _ not  _ bringing him. "Mingyu says hello." He's one of the lucky ones, (yep, Jeonghan made that one up too) he had a normal love story. He started up not too long before Jihoon, adjusting quickly to the high stake situations and use of a gun. ( _ "My father taught me before he went batshit,"  _ is the summary of his explanation as to why.) He quickly proved he was here to stay and then  _ Mingyu  _ happened. Things were fine for awhile, they got things done and moved on, much to Wonwoo's enjoyment, but then they started fighting. There was really no clear reason as to why but when they got drunk their true colors showed all too well. One thing led to another and now they're everyone's favorite crime fighting duo- though everyone did agree to have the couch at that time burned. Jihoon envies the simplicity in their story, the way they can look back on it and laugh at how naive they were. He likes to think his love story will be the same, pure and romcom worthy.

Before Jihoon can punch himself in the face for being so uncharacteristically mushy he sees a light turn on in the building, then he sees the top of Soonyoung's soft black hair in the small window that looks out onto the parking lot and then-  _ shit.  _

Soonyoung is standing at the door staring directly at his car, eyes so cutely confused that Jihoon is sure his heart has melted out of his agape mouth and filled the space around the mug in the box.  _ Oh right, the mug.  _

Jihoon unlocks his seat belt and takes a deep breath, eyes never really leaving Soonyoung and his now determined glare that's getting dangerously close and would you look at that Jihoon can't move his goddamn legs. "Wonwoo! Get up," Jihoon yell-whispers as if the car isn't enough to muffle his voice. 

Wonwoo stirs awake quickly and growls in question while he blindly reaches for the lever that will put his seat back up. When he finally gets the seat to a proper height and is awake enough Jihoon sets the box into his lap, pointing at it and then dragging their gazes to Soonyoung's hesitant figure. Wonwoo blinks a few times, as if he thinks this is all some sleepy illusion but when he blinks a fourth time and Soonyoung is still there he gets a good hold on the box so he can make his way out. He opens the door a crack and looks back at Jihoon confused for a second, but proceeds to walk out. Soonyoung's eyes widen when he sees Wonwoo shut the door behind himself but he starts backing up when Wonwoo takes a step. 

"Just come back then, Wonwoo…" Jihoon says to himself hoping the message will get telepathically sent to Wonwoo and he'll turn around like Soonyoung just did, followed by  _ speed walking  _ inside. Of course, it doesn't. 

Wonwoo walks forward again and Jihoon can see him mouth something and Jihoon wants to laugh at the way Soonyoung jumps a little but he knows how terrifying Wonwoo's voice can be when he's just woken up and his heart sinks for the third time in the past 10 minutes and he's starting to think this is really bad for his health. 

Soonyoung makes it inside, the door slamming behind him. Jihoon doesn't see the top of his head pass the window again and, for some reason he doesn't dare dwell on, he's worried. He takes a look at Wonwoo and throws the door open, trying his best to keep his yelling to a minimum.

"What idiot knocks on a door after the person walks inside and  _ clearly  _ doesn't want to talk to you!" Jihoon wants to wince at the volume of his own voice, which clearly doesn't call for the situation, but he's gone too far and he can't back down now.

"Well I usually just break the door down but this one's made of glass and I don't want to ruin my shoes." Jihoon scoffs and Wonwoo laughs, handing the box back and making his way back to the car and Jihoon waits for them to make eye contact so he can throw his shoulders up and furrow his brows as if clearly asking “what now?” Wonwoo returns it with half a shrug and opens the car door, Jihoon can see him stop for a second to rustle around inside and next thing he knows there’s a small packet of post-it notes and a pen being thrown, quite rudely, at his head. He considers yelling something smart but then the situation at hand dawns on him and it’s like writing a message in someone’s yearbook at the end of the year (he could compare it to something more serious but is it really that serious? He may be a love sick fool but he isn’t over dramatic). 

He writes out a short message, concise and to the point but then he signs his  _ name. _ Minor mistake, it's annoying to rewrite but he didn't make up a fake name as dumb as Woozi to hide his identity for nothing. He goes to peel off another post-it and reconsiders his first message but then he can hear speaking from inside and it's now or never so he decides on just using the original note, it's an on the whim decision and he isn't entirely sure if he'll regret it or not but before he can think it over again he's, quite shamefully,  _ booking it  _ to the car and yelling "Go, go, go!" at Wonwoo like they just robbed a bank. 

Wonwoo does as he's told, once again Jihoon is eternally grateful he wasn't bombarded with confused glares and questions, and they make it all the way back to the front of Shining Diamond in what seems like seconds. Jihoon laughs nervously to himself and Wonwoo takes the silence after to ask, "So did we just leave dog shit at someone's doorstep and run or was there a reason for that?" Jihoon laughs again, more genuine because the situation suggested is probably the exact opposite of the reality and shakes his head. "No, there was a reason. Just don't tell anyone." Wonwoo nods his head slowly and hands Jihoon back his keys, only mumbling "see ya" before heading inside the building and out of site. 

**PRESENT DAY**

Jihoon sits up straighter in his seat, clapping his hands slowly in front of his face repeatedly. A smile creeps on his face when the newbie, Chan he’s pretty sure his name is, copies him. They’ve been doing this for about 30 minutes, Jihoon sitting next to Joshua at his desk while Chan works the front counter and attempts to busy himself. Chan’s been with them for nearly a year but he’s been clearly avoiding Jihoon, it’s not surprising Jihoon knows he’s a scary person and he’s been specifically hard on Chan since he’s started- mostly because Joshua clearly babies him. The kid supposedly ran from home because he didn’t want to follow the career path his parents had set for him and when Joshua stumbled upon him- literally, Chan was sleeping in some alley behind a dance studio and Shua ruined one of his favorite pair of pants on some mysterious puddle he fell into he brought him back home for the night. After lots of begging and a very serious conversation, the kid got a job in the shop and a room in Joshua’s apartment. Jihoon knows he isn’t supposed to expect the kid to adjust as quickly as everyone else did, especially since he’s so young, but everyone except Wonwoo and himself treat him like he’s made of glass and act as if they even spell the word gun he’ll cry his eyes out. 

Jihoon takes the thought and changes his action, forming both his hands into finger guns and playfully points them at a customer with their back turned. Chan giggles and follows his movement, mouthing little ‘pew’ noises that make Jihoon laugh so hard he slams his hands on the table and alerts Joshua. When he sees what they’re doing he disappointedly shakes his head at Chan, who in turn folds his hands on the counter and lets his head hang down. Jihoon scoffs at the dynamic, recreating his finger guns and pointing them at Joshua’s arm. “Why do you protect him like that? He isn’t gonna be your little  _ Dinosaur  _ forever.” Jihoon makes sure to drag out the nickname and use his best English accent, which isn’t very good.

Joshua doesn’t look up from his paper work but he shoos Jihoon’s hands away and childishly sticks his tongue out. “He’s got time before he has to get in too deep. Let him enjoy youth.” Jihoon scoffs again, shifting his eyes back to Chan who's now smiling widely at the customer they were pretend shooting. Jihoon watches him respectfully give their credit card back with a bow and wave happily when they start to exit. The kid shifts a little in his spot and keeps flicking his eyes to the clock above the door and Jihoon laughs when he notices that it's only a few minutes away from closing time and the kid is itching to leave. 

The second hand passes 12 and the kid magically pulls a big duffel bag from behind the counter and makes his way over to where they are. He shoots Jihoon a smile (that he doesn't return) and messes with straps on his bags while he waits for Joshua to finish whatever he's writing. "Yes, Chan?" He finally says, setting the pen he's using down.

"Just wanted to say bye! I'll be going to the studio again and Hao hyung will be there to work on this dance with his friend. I might be a little late home." Jihoon watches Joshua reach into his pocket and pull out money, stopping half way when Chan reaches for it to say "No snacks. I'm not making dinner and you have to spend this on actual food." 

Chan shakes his head eagerly, stuffing the money into one of his bag pockets and thanking Joshua a few times. He stops in his tracks for a second and turns to quietly say "Bye, Woozi hyung.." 

Jihoon lets out a laugh that seems like more of a sigh at the name but gives Chan a half-assed salute that seems to satisfy him. "How much you want to bet the Dinosaur ABC song plays in his head 24/7?" Jihoon jokes when the ping of the automatic bell goes off at the door. Joshua doesn't give any form of reaction so Jihoon starts to sing the song aloud, making up dinosaur names on his own because he can't remember anything past 'Gallimimus'. 

Joshua sighs and taps the back of the pen on the desk, not able to think with Jihoon signing made up names right next to him so he gives up and makes conversation. "So how was the date?" There's a hint of mischief in his voice and the upturn of his lips only makes it worse. 

"Oh, you know.. Same old, same old." Jihoon attempts to lie as cleanly as possible, his heart skips a beat when he thinks about where it actually ended up but he's gotten used to that. 

"Didn't hear anything from Seokmin, our precious DK must feel betrayed~" Joshua continues to poke at the topic and Jihoon would be lying if he said he wasn't worried that this American snake figured it out.

"Yeah, we stayed friends and I didn't want to set her up with..  _ that. _ " Jihoon forces a laugh, and he's sure the other notices how nervous it sounds. 

"She like the gift then?" Joshua's voice is a little higher this time, and Jihoon's certain the other is teasing him. 

Before he can lie again Jeonghan walks out from the door that closes off a staircase that leads to the previously mentioned, quote unquote headquarters. Then follows their all fateful leader 'S.coups', aka-

"Seungcheol here has something to say to you, Hoonie." Jeonghan steps out the way and pushes a very unwilling Seungcheol in his direction. Jihoon sighs in relief, he avoided the conversation for now but Joshua obviously knew something. Then his breath gets caught in his throat completely and he's coughing at the  _ box  _ that Seungcheol just presented from behind his back. It's  _ the box. _

"They said, and I quote, 'Tell him to keep it. I can take care of myself, thanks.'" The box gets set in front of Jihoon and Joshua takes a second to look it over, humming in self confirmation. "What's this about now?" He asks after nothing gets said.

"Not entirely sure, Hannie migh-" Seungcheol turns to look for said person and it would be comical if there was a Jeonghan shaped cloud at where he once stood because that's how quickly he snuck out the room. "Oh."

Jihoon stands and picks up the box, signaling Seungcheol to go through the door he came in and telling Shua: "We'll talk later. Or, preferably, never." Then he takes the box in one hand and drags Seungcheol through the door with his other. He doesn't swat his hand away or complain, just lets him ungracefully drag him up the narrow staircase and throw him down on one of the couches in the lounge. Mingyu's eyes go wide and he takes Jihoon's glare as his cue to carry a sleeping Wonwoo bridal style into one of the empty rooms. 

"How?" Is the only question Jihoon can think to ask.

"I'm not trying to throw  _ anyone _ under the bus but  _ Hannie _ told me we were going on a date and took me to this diner where he told me to talk to the waiter. I did and the guy jumped a little when he saw us, but that happens often so I didn't think much of it but then he sat down with us and slid Jeonghan that." He points at the box in Jihoon's hands and then continues, "At first Hannie thought it was from Shua but the guy had no idea who that was and said it was left in front of the diner with some note. Jeonghan figured it was you, guess he was right." 

Jihoon opened the box and was a little relieved to see no note, he specifically remembers putting his real name on it and this would all turn against him if they knew that. He closes it again and thinks over the information given to him again, "Wait, why'd he give it back?" 

"I don't know… I don't even know why he had it in the first place." Jihoon's gaze turns into something a little more harsh and Seungcheol throws his hands up in feign innocence, squeaking out "Jeonghan might've said something!" Jihoon is about to question him further but hears "Oh, fuck off Choi.." being whispered in the closet that holds all their coats and when he opens it Jeonghan comes tumbling out, along with a few of Mingyu's long jackets. The first thing he does when he gets the jackets off and pushes his hair out of his face is run over to punch Seungcheol on the arm, Cheol laughs at the way some of the blonde strands stands up from static and Jihoon has to yell at them before they kick everything off the coffee table in their little scuff. 

“So tell me what happened. Word for word.” Jihoon leans over to pick up the coats but the serious tonein his voice is all the same, Jeonghan seems to try and lighten the mood by joking around about how robotically Jihoon decided to line up the pile of shoes under the coats and then straighten up the mess they made of the coffee table but Jihoon isn't really in the mood for smiling and his deadpan gives just that message. “Well when he handed me the cup I looked at it and told him where it was from then teased about how flustered you were when we visited the last time.” He chuckles nervously when Jihoon’s eyebrows furrow at the information but continues, “I don’t know, I told him that I haven’t gotten a gift from you and that he should be honored.. Am I missing something?” He turns to Seungcheol who’s been soaking in the information as it comes to him- he’s always had a bad memory. “Well you did ask him if he was bragging. But that didn’t seem like the thing that set it off, it was something else.” Jeonghan nods and the older pushes down the blonde hairs that are still sticking up affectionately and they both turn to their warrant, waiting for his inevitable punishment. 

Jihoon taps his chin as he thinks about everything and nothing at the same time. He’s been trying to piece together what could’ve gone wrong but he's finding no complete fuck-ups in their actions. He picks up the box while he considers just going up to the diner and asking himself but then he remembers the way he couldn’t even properly order food and one of the most embarrassing options becomes his only option.  _ Asking Joshua. _ Jihoon walks to the door deep in thought but stops to turn and address the other two that think they’re off scott free. “You’re on clean up duty until further notice,  _ Angel _ .” Jihoon smirks when he hears a loud groan after the door closes behind him.

Jihoon’s smirk turns into more and more of a frown as he walks down the stairs and into the shop. It’s obvious Joshua knows something and them knowing each other for as long as they have, Jihoon knows his precious hyung will have his fun. He opens the door and puts on one of his friendlier emotionless faces in hopes this will run smoothly, the way Joshua drops whatever he’s doing behind the desk tells another story. 

"Gonna tell me what that was about or return your  _ gift _ ?" Jihoon tries not to roll his eyes at the emphasis on the last word and sets it on the desk.

"What do you know?" Jihoon tries to be as stern as he can, hoping his whole facade isn't ruined with whatever information the other knows. The way he picks up the box like it's a new species tells him it is.

"This, my friend, is one of the nicer mugs in Shining Diamond. It's made of the finest 12 karat gold and I once considered giving it to my grandmother for her birthday. Seems it's got a little bad juju with it." He says the odd word in English and just expects Jihoon to fill in the blank for himself- he does but he isn't happy about it.

"Hyung…" Shua laughs at Jihoon's plea but gives up the act and taps the seat next to him so they can sit comfortably and talk. "Gave a kid a ride home the other day. He said this was left in front of his diner. Seemed like he knew I knew something but I didn't let out whatever information that was and he didn't poke too hard for it. That's all I know, bud." 

"Why were you giving him a ride home?" Jihoon asked more afraid of the answer than he should have been.

"He was sleeping in my bed and I don't let Chan drive." Jihoon freezes for a second and Shua seems to notice his distress, waving his hands frantically to quickly dismiss whatever thoughts he has. "He was sleeping in a friends car but they had something to do so me and Chan picked him up." 

Jihoon lets out something like a sigh again and leans back in his seat, his head is really spinning with all this information but if he just takes a second to figure out how to settle it he'll be fine. Thing is, he doesn't really know how to do that.

"I'd suggest making friends with Chan first." Joshua says tidying all his papers and getting ready to leave.

Jihoon supposes he'll start there.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these end notes will just become me complaining about english at some point... but can we talk about how annoying the word 'surprising' is?? nobody says the first r but when i spell i have to sound it out and it feels gross. also 5k! look at me go. i think i'm just taking advantage of graduation stress but so be it.
> 
> anyway give joshua lots of love he's done some stuff he isn't proud of but he's a church boy that goes to church and would like to take a minute of your time to tell you to leave kudos and comments bc he likes validation

**Author's Note:**

> also last thing real quick, i'm sorry for any unnatural sentences or just bad grammar! english is my first language but i'm coming up on 1 year since i've started teaching myself korean and i've progressively gotten worse with english. but as they say, fighting..!


End file.
